NYC: Minetta Tavern, Is it the Best Burger in NYC?

Sunday, December 8, 2013

I've heard that the Minetta Tavern Black Label Burger is the best burger in Manhattan, so naturally I had to check it out. Having tried it, I have to say indeed, it is definitely a strong contender in the Best Burger category.

At $26 a pop, the burger is just bun, patty, and caramelized onion. The quality of the meat is perfection, a blend of prime dry-aged beef, cooked to a perfect medium rare. Topped with caramelized onions that helps bring some sweetness to the whole thing.

I savored every juicy bite, especially since we had decided to split the burger into 4 people for our double date.

In addition to the burger, we ordered the Dry Aged Côte de Boeuf for two, with roasted marrow bones and sucrine lettuce salad. The steak is perfectly seared on the outside and rare in the inside. Melt in your mouth beefy goodness. It's seriously a monster. All that topped with some bone marrow, it's a beauty.

At one point, we even started dipping our fries from the burger into the beef jus from the steak & marrow, it was so addictive, and so so good.

The tiny salad on the side was pretty much a joke compared to the portions of the steak.

Since we're gluttons, we ordered the Oxtail and Foie Gras Terrine with poached leeks - forgettable - and also the Fried Pig Trotters, which was even more rich than the bone marrow, if you can believe it.

Our party of four were completely stuffed by the end but had to try the dessert. We had the Pots de Crème, a trio of puddings: chocolate, coffee and vanilla. I enjoyed the coffee pudding, but not amazing enough to reorder.

We also had the Grand Marnier Soufflé for Two which was unique and I enjoyed the orange flavor, it was light and fluffy.

Overall, the meal was great. Minetta Tavern is an old-fashion steakhouse, makes some solid cocktails and easily transports you back to the 1930s. Even though the space was a bit cramp, we really enjoyed the overall experience. The service was great, they didn't get upset and tried to rush us out, even though one member of our party was 30 minutes late for our reservation (which we easily made on OpenTable).

Definitely recommend you try this place if you're a meat fan, you won't be disappointed. That said, be sure to eat your veggies before you come, because you sure as hell won't be getting too much of that here.